First Cruise Ship Victim Identified

Sandor Feher, a Hungarian violinist, was the first victim from the Costa Concordia to be identified. (YouTube)(ROME) -- A Hungarian violinist who helped save young children aboard the ill-fated Costa Concordia was the first victim of the crash to be identified Wednesday.

Sandor Feher, 38, was identified by his mother, who confirmed that he was an entertainer on the cruise ship when it went down Friday, Jan. 13, after hitting a reef on the Italian coast.

Feher helped small children on the boat's deck put on life jackets before returning to his cabin to pack his violin, according to the Hungarian newspaper Blikk. Jossef Balog, a pianist on the ship, told the newspaper that Feher was last seen on deck, wearing his life jacket and en route to the lifeboat area.

Fehrer's body, however, was found inside the wreck.

The $250 million ship was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it crashed, 11 of whom have been found dead and 21 of whom are still missing.

Earlier Wednesday, Gertrud Goergens, a German woman who was listed among the missing, was located alive and well in Germany. She identified herself to police there.

Jerry and Barbara Heil, a couple from Minnesota on the cruise, still have not been found, according to a statement released by their children Wednesday.

The couple's White Bear Lake, Minn., church, where they were actively involved, planned to hold a prayer service Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for the couple. Church leaders said they expected more than 1,500 people to attend.

The search by the Italian Coast Guard for the remaining individuals was suspended Wednesday after the boat shifted on the ocean floor.

Costa Cruises, the company that owned the ship, announced Wednesday that it has assembled a team of salvage experts from around the world to help recover the ship's fuel reserves to prevent leaks into the ocean.

The company expected the fuel salvage to be completed by the end of the week.

It cannot remove the fuel until all rescue efforts are complete, however, because the ship could shift again once the fuel is removed, making it impossible to find any remaining bodies.

It was unclear when divers would be able to resume their search of the partially submerged cruise liner.